AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some tarot readers (notably Europeans) prefer to read with only the 22 trump cards, ignoring their exalted metaphysical archetypes and allotting them no more significance than the rest of us assign to the pip cards. They also frequently use the "quintessence" calculation to derive a fifth "synthesis" card from the four-card tirage en … Continue reading The Exemplary Way: Leveraging the Quintessence
Decision-making Spreads
An Emotional “Hopes and Fears” Spread: Rising and Falling Trends
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In almost any single-chain tarot reading there will be a mix of nominally fortunate and unfortunate cards; the reader's task is to sort them out and come up with as constructive an interpretation as possible while giving each its due. The reading frequently involves confronting the "good card/bad position" conundrum and its opposite. … Continue reading An Emotional “Hopes and Fears” Spread: Rising and Falling Trends
“Auspicious to Proceed” – A Gambler’s Choice Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: In its 64 oracular "judgments," the I Ching makes frequent use of the recommendation "Auspicious to proceed" when an augury is favorable and substitutes "No blame" when it may not be entirely agreeable but is still unlikely to cause harm. Here I'm using these concepts in a three-pronged tarot spread that applies typical … Continue reading “Auspicious to Proceed” – A Gambler’s Choice Spread
“Hold Him While I Hit Him” – A Summary-Justice* Spread
*Summary Justice: "A . . . judicial action accomplished swiftly and without observance of certain formalities of legal procedure, with the connotation of arbitrary and unfair judgment." (If you've been unjustly harmed in a lopsided conflict and are seeking the advice of the tarot, you can ignore that last part and [like "Judge" Roy Bean, … Continue reading “Hold Him While I Hit Him” – A Summary-Justice* Spread
The “Feast or Famine” Trending Fortunes Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is a spread that uses the nominal "positive, neutral or negative" qualities of the cards to determine whether a developing situation will remain steady over time or exhibit a falling or rising trend in its fortunes. It looks like it should be a nine-card reading, but once the trends are sorted out … Continue reading The “Feast or Famine” Trending Fortunes Spread
A Suit-of-Pentacles “Elemental Storyboard” Test Reading
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is my final "elemental storyboard" test reading that uses the suit of Pentacles to represent the "base element" of Earth. An objective I've been working toward is at the point of requiring concrete action, so I'm going to look at how I might proceed and what my prospects for success are. Radiant … Continue reading A Suit-of-Pentacles “Elemental Storyboard” Test Reading
The “Hourglass of Opportunity” Three-Way Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is an elegant spread that offers three possible paths to resolution: the left-hand path of intuitive insight, the right-hand path of rational judgment, and the central or "ideal" path that blends the two into a perfectly coordinated "middle way" between them. All three pass through a central "lens" (Key #2) that represents … Continue reading The “Hourglass of Opportunity” Three-Way Spread
Tarot Reading for Businesses: A Conceptual Overview
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not long ago a new acquaintance, upon hearing that I read tarot cards, asked whether I do readings for business-related questions. I responded that I have yet to do so in a professional capacity but I certainly could, and I have in fact created quite a few experimental spreads for just that purpose. … Continue reading Tarot Reading for Businesses: A Conceptual Overview
Up-slopes, Down-slopes and Flat-lines: A Three-Tier Tarot Spread
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here I'm posing the question "Which of three typical 'motifs' will form the core of a tarot reading and have the most to say about the situation?" In this experiment I'm attempting to craft an approach that separates the cards pulled for a reading into three situational scenarios indicating the path the narrative … Continue reading Up-slopes, Down-slopes and Flat-lines: A Three-Tier Tarot Spread
The “Reset Arc” – Daily Draw x 7
". . . every day resets itself, from sunrise to sunset to sunrise again."Benebell Wen, I Ching, the Oracle: A Practical Guide to the Book of Changes AUTHOR'S NOTE: The above quote should be the guiding principle behind every daily draw in tarot reading. But too many readers trust the one-card pull to satisfy this … Continue reading The “Reset Arc” – Daily Draw x 7
Parsifal's Wheel Tarot & Astrology 